1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to adjustable bar clamps that provide moveable jaws that may be tightened toward one another for clamping a work piece and may be tightened against a work piece in a spreading fashion. The present invention bar clamps provide for adjustable angle opposing jaw pads in at least two different planes. These jaw pads may be free-floating, and, hence, will be self-adjusting; they may be free-floating with a locking means at each jaw to maintain angles to which the jaws had self-adjusted; or they may be rotatable for selection and locking of one or more angles at each jaw.
2. Information Disclosure Statement
The following prior art is representative of the state of the art in the field of bar clamp systems:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,009,134 describes a bar clamp having a fixed jaw and a movable jaw which is radially movable over both short and long distances to clamp against a workpiece and operable using one hand with complete control by the operator at all times. The jaws may either face one another while being mounted on the same side of a handle/grip assembly or face in opposite directions while being mounted on opposite side of the handle/grip assembly whereby they may be incrementally advanced by the trigger handle/driving lever.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,022,137 describes a bar clamp, which is operable with one hand and includes a fixed jaw and a movable jaw. The movable jaw connects at one end to a movable slide bar. One-way drive means, by operation of a trigger handle grip, releasably engages the slide bar and advances the movable jaw toward the fixed jaw. Return motion of the movable jaw is accomplished manually when the one-way drive means is disengaged. A braking lever, biased to bind against the slide bar, prevents reverse motion of the movable jaw except when disengaged from the slide bar. The trigger handle advances the slide bar by driving a second lever which binds against a slide bar surface. The second lever returns by spring force to its original position after each stroke of the trigger handle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,853,168 describes a bar clamp for single hand operation. It includes a housing, a fixed jaw and a movable jaw mounted on one end of a slide bar for movement in a direction toward the fixed jaw. A spring-loaded driving key is secured on the slide bar and through operation of a trigger handle engages the slide bar for advancing the movable jaw toward the fixed jaw. A locking key is biased against the slide bar and normally engaged with the slide bar to prevent motion of the second jaw away from the first jaw and actuatable to disengage from the slide bar to allow advancement of the second jaw away from the first jaw. The trigger handle has one end pivotably mounted within the housing and formed with two lateral mounting plates of arched outer configuration. The housing is comprised of a first housing portion and a second housing portion, with at least the driving key and the locking key being accommodated within the housing. The first housing portion has formed on an inside wall thereof a first support member for surrounding one of the mounting plates, and the second housing portion includes a second support member formed on an inside wall of the second housing portion for receiving the other one of the mounting plates.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,382,608 B1 describes an adjustable clamping and spreading bar clamp or bench vice that includes a fixed jaw and a movable jaw opposing the fixed jaw, where the fixed jaw and the movable jaw each include two jaw pads facing in opposite directions. The movable jaw connect at one end to a slide bar, which is movable to bring the movable jaw toward and away from the fixed jaw, the movable jaw includes means to releasably engages the slide bar and advances the movable jaw toward the fixed jaw or moves the movable jaw away from the fixed jaw for spreading or jacking. A two-way drive means is operational by a trigger handle grip. Also included is a pair of mechanical detent switches, which are rotated approximately ¼ revolution, to either change the direction of the movable jaw, or release the clamp after either clamping or spreading.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,386,530 B1 describes a bar clamp operated by squeezing a handle to close a jaw. The improvements of the invention include: low actuation force, two speed action to provide both high speed closing and high force clamping, a removable bar to allow different length bars to be installed into one body, a side mounted bar release button which allows easy access and an increased handle stroke, and reinforced wedge elements.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,412,767 B1 describes a method of attaching a clamping jaw to a support element comprising a stop element having the steps of positioning a stop element within a channel formed in the clamping jaw and blocking a first end of the channel and a second end of the channel so that the stop element is trapped between the first and second ends of the channel.
Notwithstanding the prior art, the present invention is neither taught nor rendered obvious thereby.